Arguably the most famous street style photographer of his generation, Scott Schuman a.k.a. The Sartorialist is gearing up for the release of his second bookCloser, out on August 29. The tome, a carefully curated collection of photographs from all over the world, captures real people on the pavements of New York, London, and the lesser-worn street style trails of Savannah, Dublin and more. Here, the Midwestern native discusses the evolution of street style, his roots, and why pretty ladies are the least likely group to stand infront of his lens.

ELLE: Some of the images were featured online and some are exclusive to the book. How did you choose which ones to withhold?

Scott Schuman: There are probably about 40 exclusive images. Some of those photographs I really love, and I wanted to share [online], so it was really hard to hold them back for the book. I shot a picture of a girl on a bicycle from behind for the blog, but it became an exclusive, because it made such a great page layout. Laying out the book was about what images seemed to go well together, whether it was because of lighting, shape, or contrast. It wasn't about people or trends; it was about what was going to create harmony on the page.

ELLE: Does the girl on the bike know that she's in the book?

SS: No, probably not.

ELLE: So, she never even knew that you took her picture?

SS: No, probably not. There's another girl that I shot downtown twice, and I'm sure she's disappointed that she didn't make it on the blog and has no idea she's in the book.

ELLE: Why did you name it Closer?

SS: In the beginning, I went where people sent me, because I didn't have the money to go anywhere. It took a while for me to make money, so I could send myself to Morocco or Las Vegas or wherever. Now, I feel like I'm getting closer to how I wanted the blog to be. You know there's London, Paris, Milan, and all that—but there's also Savannah, Dublin, Morocco, and a bunch of places. That's what separates me from other street style blogs. They just go to the shows, or they shoot in their neighborhoods. For me, it's about being able to spread out and mix different cultures together. Also, I've felt that a lot of the shots were literally getting closer to the subjects.

SS: I think New York does a great job in terms of variety. You never know what you're going to find on every street corner. I was in Berlin not so long ago, and there was something interesting going on there. Still, so many cities have one note. Milan is great, but you don't really have goth or vintage. Italians do Italian very well, but that's very much what they do. In Stockholm they have a very specific look, but they don't have much variety. It's just very narrow.

ELLE: Have you noticed a shift in style since your first book?

SS: Some of the pictures in my first book were taken five or six years ago, and people are still looking at it. I was looking at it the other day and thinking that a lot of the pictures are very inspirational, but [fashion] doesn't really move that fast. In real life, people want to buy a couple of things every season and still keep the wardrobe they have. A big difference between the first and second book is that I've gotten better at quickly figuring out what I like about the look and highlight it. Does the girl have great legs and big eyes? Does the guy have a machismo and charisma that I want to capture?

ELLE: Does anybody ever say no when you ask to take their picture?

SS: Yeah. Not all the time but enough. Older European women are very difficult. Older women, in general, say no all the time. They're just very vain. And girls who are pretty, who've always been pretty. Not models—like the prom queen. They're like, "Oh my god my beauty is such a curse! Nooo!" They're not really into fashion, because they've always been pretty. It doesn't happen very often, because they rarely dress well. They dress so-so, because they've always gotten attention whether they want it or not. But I almost always know those girl are going to be like, "No! Not again!"

ELLE: Some people are just self-conscious.

SS: That smile that you have when you're a little flushed and embarrassed can come across as super charming in photographs.

ELLE: Do people ever recognize you when you ask to take their pictures?

SS: Yesterday I was at Starbucks and this very nice, young Japanese girl came up with bright blue hair. Her boyfriend actually came over to say hi first, because she was too embarrassed. She said, "I'm a young photographer." And I said, "nice to meet you." She was just staring at me and after a while, I realized she was looking at me and back at the camera. Looking at me and back at the camera. She didn't saying anything, but I realized she wanted me to ask to take her picture. At that time, I was not in the mood—I was having my first coffee of the day. It was that awkward moment when I was like, "Okay. Well, great. Good luck to you."

ELLE: She's was probably like, "wait but I have blue hair."

SS: Yeah, I'm sure she was like, 'Well, I have blue hair, I'm sure he's going to want to take a picture of me." I mean, I was nice—I asked about her photography in a nice way.

ELLE: Are you ever without your camera?

SS: Yes. I don't always feel in the mood to shoot how I want to shoot. Sometimes missing shots is a good way to kick your butt a bit.

ELLE: Did you ever think this was going to be the course of your career?

SS: No. It took me a long time to be able to call myself a photographer. I didn't train with anyone; I didn't go to school for it. It took me a long time to get to the point where I could say that I have my own unique look, and people recognize my photographs. If you told me eight years ago that this is what I would was going to do—have two books and be in museums and stuff—I'd have been very surprised. Happy to hear it, but very surprised.